For any Mariners fans hoping to watch today’s game against Texas, your only option is Facebook. That’s because of a deal Major League Baseball inked in March to stream 25 games on Facebook Watch, the new video platform created by the social media giant last year. It’s part of an experiment that allows MLB to test new ways to air live baseball as more and more sports content is streamed online. It’s also part of Facebook’s push to get more sports video content on its site as it competes with other tech giants — Amazon and its deal with the… Read More
[Love sports and technology? Sign up for our sports tech newsletter to receive this rundown from GeekWire’s Taylor Soper via email every week.] TAYLOR’S TAKE ON THE WEEK IN SPORTS TECH: Vicis, the high-tech football helmet maker based in Seattle, had several key developments this week. The company announced an additional $7 million in funding, and has now raised nearly $50 million since spinning out of the University of Washington in 2014. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson participated in the funding round — Wilson, who also just launched his own media startup, is among a group of players from more than 15 NFL teams and 20… Read More
After American Airlines threw Tacoma Rainiers infielder D.J. Peterson some sort of curveball, he and his teammates Daniel Vogelbach, Pat Light, and Mark Lowe were forced to take a very pricey Uber. Peterson tweeted out Lowe’s Instagram post, explaining that an issue with their flight led them to take a 7-hour Uber ride from Phoenix to Albuquerque, in the middle of the night, to make Monday’s game. The ride cost them $683.52. Thanks at @AmericanAir for making @DanielVogelbach and I do this last night. #bebetter #havebettercustomerservice #Unbelievable pic.twitter.com/QlWoPgL5pw — D.J. Peterson (@DJPeterson) July 17, 2017 The players were lucky to… Read More
To describe Jerry Dipoto as a baseball geek is probably an understatement. The Seattle Mariners general manager has long been a baseball historian and statistical guru, dating back to his days as a Major League relief pitcher when he was the only active player who was also an active member of the Society for American Baseball Research. Now in his second season as general manager of the Seattle Mariners, Dipoto is tapping everything from analytics to sports science as he tries to help improve decision-making both on and off the baseball diamond. We recently had the pleasure of hearing from Dipoto… Read More
Amazon’s voice technology has made its way into Major League Baseball. Earlier this month, the Seattle Mariners became the first professional sports franchise to place Amazon Echo devices inside stadium suites. At Safeco Field, fans at each of the 59 suites can now use their voice to order food, change TV channels, play music, and even have Alexa — the AI powered voice assistant built into the Echo — sing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.” GeekWire had a chance to test out the new technology this week before the Mariners took on the Oakland Athletics. Fans can use Alexa for its… Read More
